Shark attacks dropped during the pandemic, report says. What about in the Carolinas?
Shark attacks during the coronavirus pandemic dropped considerably — but not in the Carolinas, a new study found.
There were 57 unprovoked shark bites globally in 2020, 33 of which were in the United States, according the Florida Museum of Natural History’s annual update to the International Shark Attack File. Researchers define an “unprovoked attack” as a bite on a human in the shark’s natural habitat without provocation.
That’s a far cry from a five-year average of 80 attacks, the report said. It’s also less than the 64 unprovoked attacks reported in 2019, The Miami Herald reported. However, the attacks that did occur were more deadly, with 2020 being the deadliest year on record since 2013.
Researchers say the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in closed beaches, statewide lockdowns and fewer travelers, might have something to do with the dramatic drop off in shark bites in 2020.
Still, the number of unprovoked attacks in the Carolinas didn’t change between 2019 and 2020.
Attacks stay the same in NC, SC
In North Carolina, researchers recorded three attacks last year — the fourth highest in the country behind Florida (16), Hawaii (5) and California (4). South Carolina is tied with four other states in reporting just one attack last year.
A 16-year-old was injured in the Outer Banks last summer when a shark latched onto his leg and his father had to fight it off, McClatchy News reported. A shark also bit a 12-year-old boy off Folly Beach in South Carolina in September.
North and South Carolina reported the same number of attacks in 2019, when there were 41 unprovoked shark bites in the United States, according to McClatchy News.
Since 1935, there have been at least 70 unprovoked shark attacks off the coast of North Carolina, according to the museum’s data. Brunswick County has had the most with 16, followed by New Hanover County with 13.
In South Carolina, researchers have recorded 103 unprovoked attacks since 1837 — most of which occurred in Charleston and Horry counties.
Experts say sharks aren’t actively hunting for humans. More often than not, they mistake people for fish or another animal.
“They’re normally more curious than anything else,” said Tyler Bowling, an International Shark Attack File manager.
A deadlier year for shark bites
The U.S. consistently reports the highest number of unprovoked shark attacks in the world, according to the report. The 33 attacks recorded in 2020 represent 58% of the global total, but it’s also a 19.5% drop from 2019.
Most attacks are in Florida, where there were 16 unprovoked bites in 2020 — none of them fatal.
2020 was also one of the deadliest years for shark bites worldwide, with at least 10 deaths caused by unprovoked attacks and three attributed to provoked attacks, meaning the human initiated contact with the shark in some way. The average number of deaths associated with an unprovoked shark bite is four per year, according to the report.
Still, researchers say the number of fatalities in 2020 is an anomaly.
“It’s a dramatic spike, but it’s not yet cause for alarm,” said Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Museum of Natural History’s shark research program. “We expect some year-to-year variability in bite numbers and fatalities. One year does not make a trend.”
None of the shark attacks in the Carolinas were fatal, according to the report. Of the 10 deaths attributed to unprovoked attacks in 2020, three occurred in the U.S.
A 26-year-old surfer in Northern California died in May after a shark bit him near Manresa State Beach on Monterey Bay, McClatchy News reported. Two months later, a 63-year-old woman from New York City was killed by a great white shark while swimming with a family member off the coast of Maine, and a 56-year-old surfer died in December after being bitten by a shark in Honolua Bay in Hawaii.
